Meanwhile, that Deadspin story enrages me.

So I'm in a great mood heading into what will be my final game in the regular seating bowl of the Stadium tomorrow morning.

I'm tempted to bring a funeral wreath and heave it onto the field from my upper deck seats.

Grrrrr.

As bad as things are now, I hope the energy picks back up when the September call-ups come around. I hope the team has it in them to play with some pride the rest of the way (and avoid a free fall toward the bottom of the division).

Thanks again, guys.

"we play today, we get one loss closer to a protected draft pick today."

pride is nice and all, but having a protected draft pick when you're about to go free agent shopping is a bit more useful, especially when you're going to get a bunch of draft picks from losing your own free agents.

mmmm ... protected draft picks ...

1. It may now be easier to get some tickets to the remaining games this year if there's nothing left for casual fans to see

2. If the Yankees punt the first month of the season again next year, I don't have to hear people tell me that its "early" and "look what they did last year!"

2) No worries, we'll tell you "look at what they did in 2005 and 2007"

I can't even get that excited about September callups. We've seen most of these guys already. Out of desperation. The return of Chad Moeller, Shelley Duncan, and Melk-bone isn't exactly something to write home about.

I had never heard there was a policy against fan movement at Yankee Stadium. What happened to that guy is outrageous. Shouldn't happen even to a Red Sox fan.

Another reason I like minor league games. Even if you're breaking the rules, they try very hard not to throw you out.

6 the amazing Paul Gilbert did a solo acoustic version of 'the lamb lies down on broadway' on his Gilbert Hotel cd!

it sucketh majorly that we lost these 2 games. twins won, too. we're cooked. a-rod, i believe, is 2 hits away from 1,000 extra base hits. that's nothing to sneeze at...

They say it aint ovah till the Kate Smith sings, but our annual round of thanks to Alex and Cliff signal the Yankees demise.

Misery loves company, but having the Banter and the Banterers and taken the Yankee's season and turned it into more then just baseball.

God... I hope I don't have to face another N.E. winter with the Sox on top.

I really, really, REALLY though the boys would put on a charge and take at least 2 of 3. Silly me.

9 If the Yankees were smart, they would immediately pull the plug on Ponson, Rasner and Pavano, call up Kennedy, Hughes as well as anyone else for whom they have hope. Of course, Girardi keeps repeating the silly mantra about only having to win the next game and believing in the guys in the room, so we'll probably see a September full of retreads and the pitiful, uninspired play they produce.

It's time to get a head start on next season right now. This team has pretty much quit, so there is no reason that the organization should be reticent about quitting on them.

Finally, I'll test the 'no restroom break during God Bless America' policy today.

The Yanks will need some help, but its doable if they play poorly. The first order of business is to fall behind Toronto.

The only hang-up is the Yanks need a win today for Moose. But then, they can lose the next 4 games with no worries.

While I did find the post and the linked article deeply disturbing, I simply have not ever seen evidence of such a policy being enforced. I think the problem here was the policeman who decided it would be fun to throw his badge in somebody's face and give them a hard time.

5 God Bless America got old in 2002 Right after 9/11, I understood. I've never liked the song much, but fine, ok, special circumstances. But then they made it into part of the normal process of a Yankee game. Ugh.

In addition to GBA, there are a few other traditions that I would like to see die with the old new Stadium, including Cotton Eye Joe, YMCA and stupid songs before every batter.

No one loves the Yankees or their building more than I do. But every time I go there, I come into direct contact with dozens of employees who need a bust in the mouth, stat. Cue the roll call:

* The security guys at the gates who stop the line dead for no reason -- hundreds of people lined up on the sidewalk, zero people in the turnstiles -- claiming "congestion."

* The guy whose job it is to put on a thousand-yard stare and shout, "MONUMENT PARK IS NOW CLOSED AND WILL NOT REOPEN" 90 minutes before game time. (It's supposed to be open until 45 minutes before.)

* The counter staff who shuffle around chatting with each other while people miss two innings to get a hot dog -- workers who never seem to grasp that you should start the hot dogs cooking early enough so that I can buy one on my way in. They publish the game times; why do I ever have to be told they're "not ready yet"?

* The stadium operations goons who seem to fear they'll lose their union cards if a single stadium patron is able to converse with the person next to him. If I want a bad arena rock concert I know where to go. Turn the fucking music down or I am going to start a revolution over this one.

* The security personnel who invoke "safety" to funnel 55,000 people out a handful of exits instead of opening them all. Let's say I've watched the game from Section 20, near third base, and I'd like to go out Gate 2 because I'm headed to the subway. Oops, here's a crowd control barrier and a couple of guards (or cops) turning the whole crowd around. Can't go that way -- it isn't "safe." So everyone squeezes back to Gate 4 behind the plate, and... whoa, surprise, we've all gone right through the YANKEES TEAM STORE! Plus now I've got to walk an extra half mile to get to the subway. Thanks, assholes.

* Or, if I'm driving back to Westchester, how about the cops (I know they're not employees but I'm on a roll) who block access to the northbound Deegan for no reason a human can discern... so the trek down to 138th Street, up a ramp, through multiple traffic lights and back north again becomes a Ho Chi Minh trail of wasted time and gas.

Okay, I'm ranting. But here's the point. For many years, every stadium employee whom I've seen come into contact with the public has fronted this attitude: "We've already got your money, so sit down, shut up and go home as soon as possible." After Donnie went yard in 95ALDSG2 and the place went nuts, I actually had a person in Yankee staff attire look at me and say, "I hate Yankee fans. We all do."

And here's the secondary point: I cannot get anyone to talk about this. It's a big, open secret. If I had the resources and spare time, I'd do a hidden-camera expose. I would love to see George Vescey or someone just take the stadium staff to town, rip them a new one. In the Year of Cathedral Apotheosis, I suppose the chances of that are slim.

Yes, I'm frothing. But am I wrong here?

What a profoundly chilling story.

I've always been unnerved by the hyperbolic jingoism of the Stadium since they blew up the World Trade Center, but my God, this is a whole new level of alarm.

Just wow.

I loathe the song, always have. but I've become a big fan of the 3-second moment of silence. In fact, last time I was there it was a beat short of 3 seconds.

23 I have no issue with the moment of silence, think it's a good idea, actually.